PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 12

Sept 12 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

Vodafone Group Plc is set to spend 2 billion euros ($2.39 billion) building new ultra-fast broadband networks in Germany, as it squares up to rivals including Liberty Global in a battle for control of Europe's biggest telecoms market. bit.ly/2wWmdVN

Megan Butler, director of supervision at the Financial Conduct Authority, said that the watchdog would monitor closely how banks managed the expected rise in payment protection insurance complaints before the August 2019 deadline. bit.ly/2wVszEM

The Guardian

Alphabet Inc's Google is appealing against the record 2.4 billion euros ($2.87 billion) fine imposed by the European Union for its abuse of its dominance of the search engine market in building its shopping comparison service. bit.ly/2wWxeXe

The United States has significantly diluted a package of proposed sanctions against North Korea, dropping an oil embargo and enforceable naval blockade in the hope of avoiding a Chinese veto at the UN Security Council. bit.ly/2wVq6dv

The Telegraph

The United Kingdom's offshore wind sector could power a 17.5 billion pounds ($23.05 billion) investment in the UK economy over the next four years after faster-than-expected cost-cutting slashed subsidies for the technology by half. bit.ly/2wVnah7

Facebook Inc has been hit with a 1.2 million euros ($1.44 million) fine in Spain after the country's data watchdog found it broke privacy laws. The regulator found Facebook had failed to inform users how their data would be used as it collected the details of millions of people in Spain. bit.ly/2wVLShg

Sky News

Hellman & Friedman, a U.S.-based private equity firm and a former investor in Gartmore, the asset manager, has been approached about backing a buyout of Old Mutual Plc's 25 billion pounds fund management arm. bit.ly/2wX3V70

Goldman Sachs Group Inc refused to comment on reports that it will open a retail banking offering in the United Kingdom. The U.S. investment bank is said to have hired a former director of TSB Bank Plc to lead a team selling personal loans and operating savings accounts from mid-2018. bit.ly/2wV73Qz

The Independent

More than 20,000 Ryanair passengers have had their flights on Tuesday cancelled due to a strike by French air-traffic controllers. Many other travellers are said likely to be affected by the action by members of the USAC-CGT union. ind.pn/2wW08ql

The International Monetary Fund is resisting putting a moratorium on Barbuda's sovereign debt repayments in the wake of the devastation left by Hurricane Irma on the tiny Caribbean island which is said to have lost 90 percent of its structures because of the storm. ind.pn/2wVty8b